


Overstrain

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: FT - Gen [5]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Eye Contact, Eye Magic, Eyes, Family, Friendship, Gen, Illnesses, Loss of Control, Raijinshuu - Freeform, Team as Family, Trust, thunder god tribe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-17 06:30:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16511120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: In all their time as a team Bickslow has never used his Figure eyes against his teammates and that's the way he wants to keep it, fearing the damage it could cause. However, circumstance make that choice out of his hands, but will also give him the chance to realise that some fears are just that, fears.





	Overstrain

   Bickslow was acting strangely. More strangely than normal, although he was doing his best to hide it especially from his teammates. Unfortunately, both Evergreen and Freed were both observant especially when it came to their team, and they knew him well enough to know when his cheer was real or not, however, this time they had no idea what was bothering him. It had been a couple of weeks since they’d last taken a job, but they’d made enough on their last job to have a break, so they knew he wasn’t worrying about that - and he had been the one to suggest they take a break.  However, rather than hanging around with them every day he had suddenly taken to spending more time alone at home, and when they pressed for a reason he would just go quiet or change the topic before they got the chance, and he had been outright avoiding them for the last three days.

   Apparently, he had realised that wasn’t the best tactic, as he had appeared at the guild that morning just as they had been discussing going and dragging him out, and possibly interrogating him for answers. They’d originally decided to leave it be until he was ready to talk to them, it was clear that for once that tactic wasn’t going to work. However, whilst he had spent the morning with them, their conversation had been odd and stilted and more than once they had noted him gripping his head, but when Freed had tried to ask what was wrong, he had lurched to his feet and hurried off, muttering something about getting them fresh drinks.

“What do you think is bothering him?” Evergreen asked abruptly as they watched their teammate approaching the bar, her eyes narrowing with concern as she caught him stumbling slightly and gripping the bar to steady himself and she was half out of her seat before Freed had grabbed her hand and pulled her back with a small shake of his head.

“I don’t know,” He admitted when she turned to him with a scowl, holding his other hand up defensively when she opened her mouth to protest. “But pushing him clearly isn’t going to help.” _Bickslow what the hell are you hiding?_ He asked silently as his gaze darted back to their teammate, his expression darkening as he studied the taller mage. It never settled well with him when either of his teammates was out of sorts, but it rarely lasted this long, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more serious this time. However, he also knew from experience that Bickslow had an independent streak a mile wide and that he was probably trying to deal with everything on his own. _Idiot,_ his fingers loosened around Evergreen’s wrist somewhat tempted to just let her go, but apparently, she had deflated as she made no move to go after the Seith mage.

“Then what do we do? I hate to admit it, but I miss his stupid grin,” she grumbled, but he wasn’t fooled in the slightest. Whilst neither of them were inclined to be as overly cheerful as the Seith mage, his usual grin was always an indicator that everything was right and more than once just the sight of it had been enough to brighten their own moods. “It’s…” She trailed off as there was a loud bang from the other side of the guild as another brawl broke out, and they shared exasperated looks as they caught the familiar flash of pink and black in the centre of the fight, before their attention immediately shot back to Bickslow who had tensed as the fight moved towards him.

“Bickslow…” This time it was Freed who was semi out of his seat as he watched the Seith mage gripping his head once more, flinching as the brawl got closer and closer.  Of all of them, it was usually Bickslow that got involved in the guild’s brawling and even when he wasn’t in the mood for fighting himself, he had never flinched away from the chaos. Instead, he had a tendency of egging it on, choosing one side or the other and cheering them on, his dolls adding to the noise. _Bickslow what is going on?_ He was just debating whether it was better to push the issue and risk pushing him away, or waiting a little longer when the choice was taken out of their hands.

“Natsu!” Bickslow’s voice was high with panic, a tone that they had never heard from him before as the Dragon-slayer and the other’s he had dragged into the brawl collided with the Seith mage, managing to tear his visor off in the chaos and Freed was vaguely aware of Evergreen cursing as flames flared and the visor fell away in a melted mess.

    He was already up and moving the second he heard another cry from Bickslow, nearly bowling Mirajane over as he bolted down the steps and across to where the Seith mage had dropped to his knees next to the melted remains of his visor. He could hear Evergreen close on his heels, and he trusted that she would keep the others at bay as he dropped down beside Bickslow who didn’t seem to be aware of his presence, slowly shifting as though contemplating whether to run or not. _What is going on?_ He knew that the taller man was often reluctant to leave the visor off because his eyes, and the power they contained unsettled people, even in Fairy Tail they had seen more than one person shooting cautious looks to him whenever he went without his helmet. _But he’s never been this afraid._

“Bickslow?”

“Stay back,” Bickslow snarled and Freed flinched for a moment at the tone, unable to recall the other mage ever using that tone with either him or Ever before, but he brushed it aside as he caught the apologetic expression that washed across the Seith mage’s face, his mouth dropping open as he realised that the older man had his eyes squeezed shut and a moment later he had turned his gaze to the ground, shoulders hunching up as though to protect himself.

“Bickslow, please look at us,” Freed kept his voice low and soft, struggling not to show how worried he was. He had seen the Seith mage in a lot of different moods, but he had never seen him look so frightened or vulnerable and he didn’t like it. The brawl had died out, not even Natsu was oblivious to the fact that something was wrong, although thankfully the rest of the guild seemed to have cottoned onto the fact that Bickslow was in no state to deal with the rest of them, and they were keeping their distance without being asked, allowing Evergreen to kneel down beside them, sharing a brief glance with him when there was no response from their teammate. “Bickslow?”

“I can’t…”  

“Why not?” Evergreen asked gently, reaching out to grasp his hand, relieved when he made no effort to pull away from her although his head was still turned towards the ground and his eyes squeezed close as he shook his head frantically from side to side. Hesitating for a moment she reached up and brushed her fingers through his messy hair, still amused about how much he managed to cram inside his helmet, and his frantic shaking stilled, and she felt him press ever so slightly into the touch which gave her the courage to try again.  “Bickslow we’re not going to leave, so please tell us what is going on.”

“It’s…I can’t…” Bickslow trailed off with a curse, well aware that everyone was listening in and wishing desperately that he had just stayed away from the guild. He had known that something was going to go wrong sooner rather than later, ad he shook his head again. “I can’t…”

“Can’t?” Freed prompted.

“My eyes…” He admitted with a defeated sigh, he knew that tone meant that his teammates weren’t going to let the matter drop, and to be honest he was tired of dealing with it on his own, even though he hated the thought that he was going to worry them. Blindly he reached out needing something to ground him, and he was relieved when Freed grasped the searching hand, the feel of the tough callouses from years of sword fighting was reassuring. _I can trust them._ For a long time, before he had joined the Raijinshuu there had never been anyone he could turn to about his magic, and he realised it had been that mentality rearing its ugly head that had stopped him from reaching out to them before. “It’s been going haywire the last couple of weeks, and I can’t - I won’t risk making you my puppets.” They had seen his magic in action plenty of times, but he had never once used _‘Figure Eyes’_ on them, and although he knew that they trusted him implicitly he didn’t want to risk it, especially when he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that he could cancel it like normal.

“Bickslow…”

“Idiot,” Evergreen was the first to respond properly, and there was a trace of real irritation underneath the worry, and he knew that if he could see her fact that she would be scowling fiercely at him. “Why didn’t you say something? We could have helped before it got to this point!”

“Ever,” Freed scolded as he felt the flinch that went through Bickslow, but the look he shot at her a moment later showed that he wasn’t disagreeing, and he sighed before tightening his hold on the Seith mage’s hand. “She is right though; this isn’t something you should have tried to handle on your own.” _I should have pushed the issue sooner,_ he thought heavily as he moved forwards, aware of the nervous shifting in the crowd around them and determined to stop the Seith mage from realising that the others were unsettled about the news. “Let’s get you home, and then we will find a way to fix this.” He said it firmly, making it a promise through his tone alone, reassured when Bickslow gave a hesitant nod of agreement.

“’Kay…”

    Gently taking hold of one of his arms each they helped to guide him to his feet, steadying him when the Seith mage swayed for a moment, and this time they could see the grimace of pain that accompanied the action, exchanging worried looks as they caught him muffling a groan.

“Headache?” Evergreen asked softly.

“Yeah…”

“All right I think we’re going to the infirmary,” Freed said after a moment, eyeing Bickslow with increased concern, a vague awareness tickling at the back of his mind. Something about this situation was familiar, and he squeezed the Seith mage’s arms to silence the weak protest that met his command, before he glanced around, eyes seeking out Mira who had drifted closer. “Can you ask Porlyusica to come and look at him?”

“Of course.” He had barely waited for her quiet reply before the pair of them were guiding Bickslow towards the stairs, the rest of the guild moving aside to let them through and Freed couldn’t stop himself from throwing a dark glare towards the few that were still looking unnerved by the current situation. He knew that their past actions, especially during the Fantasia was a reason for them to be suspicious, but Bickslow had always gone out of his way to ease any concerns they had about his powers, and he was relieved that his friend couldn’t see their expressions right now.

“Freed?” However, apparently, he wasn’t so distracted that he hadn’t felt the tension that had entered the Rune mage’s body, tilting his head towards Freed although his eyes remained as tightly closed as before. “What is it?”

“Nothing, I’m just worried about you,” Freed cut across him, and thankfully there was enough sincerity in his voice that Bickslow fell quiet once more, trusting them to get him where they needed to go. _And it’s true,_ Freed thought with a sigh as he glanced at the pale face and nervous expression, squeezing softly as they led him up the stairs. _Bickslow…_

**

    They had just reached the corridor leading to the infirmary when things went wrong, Bickslow managing to trip over his feet and sending them stumbling forward as well. Despite himself his eyes flew open already bright green with his magic coursing through them and panic flooded him as he found himself staring directly into Freed’s eyes, the Rune mage having recovered the fastest and already turned to steady him. He felt his magic taking hold, and he paled as Freed’s body took on a darker colour, the sharp turquoise eyes turning blank and he hastily slammed his eyes shut again, hoping that it would be enough to cancel the spell.

“Bickslow! Freed!” Evergreen was back at his side, and he felt her hand curling tightly around his arm, and cautiously he inched his eyes open once more as he felt the tension radiating through her. _It wasn’t enough,_ the thought chilled him even before he lifted his head enough to peer at Freed, nausea rising as he realised the Rune mage was still frozen in place waiting for Bickslow to move him and he staggered back, yanking his arm out of Evergreen’s hand. _This is my fault. I should have stayed away…I should have stayed away…_ Frantically he tried to release the magic, but it was stubbornly clinging on, and guilt and fear were warring for control as he shook his head from side to side.

“Freed…” _I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…_

“Bickslow!” Evergreen’s hand caught him sharply on the cheek, and he realised that he had been starting to hyperventilate, and he blinked, noting that she was carefully avoiding meeting his gaze directly as he tried to get himself back under control. However, there was none of the anger or hatred he had been half expecting to see in her expression, only concern, and his breath caught in his throat as he realised that she was still worried about him as well as Freed.

“I…”

“It was an accident,” she cut across him softly, and he blinked at her. _But…_ She had obviously caught the shift in his expression because she sighed, hands moving to her hips and he nearly had a heart-attack when she lifted her head to meet his gaze head on - only nothing happened. It took him a moment to realise that her own eyes were lit up, and he gaped at her. _It’s enough to cancel it out? Then Freed_? “It was an accident. Do you think we didn’t know the risks the moment you told us what was wrong? We knew that, and we stayed, and that’s not going to change now. So, get that through your thick head otherwise Freed will have your head when this is dealt with!” There was no hesitation, no sign that she doubted what she was saying even with Freed still stood behind her, stuck under Bickslow’s control and oh how he wanted to believe her. _But…_

“I never wanted to use this against you…”

“I don’t like using my magic against you either, even if it’s not having any effect,” Evergreen pointed out, sounding softer than he had ever heard her and he blinked, protests dying on his tongue. _Oh,_ it was never really spoken about, but they all had elements of their magic that they disliked and he realised that he had been so caught up in his own concerns that he had forgotten, and he found himself unable to look away as she held his gaze.  “But it is what it is. If Freed had, had the time he could probably have neutralised your magic as well.”

“But…”

“You’re not going to believe me until you hear it from him as well, are you?” She muttered as she glanced sideways at Freed, not wanting to trap him with her magic as well. Well aware that he and Bickslow shared a slightly different bond, and that the Seith mage was more used to listening to their Captain than her and she wanted to curse. Instead, she turned back to Bickslow with a scowl, although her expression softened a little when he flinched back under the force of her gaze. “Let’s get into the infirmary like Freed said, you’ll have to direct him there.”

    Swallowing hard Bickslow nodded, trying to compose himself as he slowly moved towards the frozen Rune mage, guilt still gnawing at him despite Evergreen’s words. Even though deep inside he knew that she was spot on and that Freed would probably repeat every word she had just said. _When he can…_ As he passed Evergreen she reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently and offering him a small smile when he glanced at her. “Everything will be okay.”

    _I hope so, h_ e thought silently, reaching Freed and gently grasping his shoulder, turning him around and guiding him towards the infirmary, unable to bring himself to rely solely on his magic to control his friend.

_I’m so sorry…_

****

_Overstrain._

Bickslow was torn between horror and an odd desire to break down in hysterical laughter as the simple diagnosis sank in a few hours later. Jet had been sent to bring the cranky healer, and it had taken her barely half an hour to diagnose the problem he had been fighting for the last few weeks. Apparently, his constant efforts to hold back that element of his magic, even with the aid of his visor, followed the intensive use of ‘Figure eyes’ on their last job had strained it. A couple of weeks of proper rest, which meant no holding in his magic and no visor and some medicine and she had reassured him that he would be back to normal, followed by a strong warning of what she would do to him if he overstrained it again.

“Are you alright?” Freed’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to find the Rune mage standing in the doorway, gaze carefully located just off to the side so that he wouldn’t be caught by Bickslow’s magic again. It had taken nearly two hours for the magic to wear off earlier, much to the Seith mage’s distress, although Freed had seemed unperturbed by what had happened when he’d regained control of his limbs. “Bickslow?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Again?” Freed grumbled before closing the distance between them and sinking down on the bed beside the Seith mage, reaching out to grasp the taller man’s wrist when he tried to move away. “Do I need to say it again? I don’t blame you, and I don’t mind. Now, f you’d taken the chance to make me do ridiculous things I might have been a little irritated, but you didn’t.”

“Of course not! I…”

“That’s not what you’re like,” Freed finished for him, lips curving up in a small smile. He had seen the Seith mage force their opponents to do some fairly ridiculous things in the past, but he knew that no matter how fun-loving Bickslow was, there was no way he would ever do that to a friend, and especially not to his teammates. “So what is the problem?”

“I…”

“I seem to recall you over-used it on that last job because we were in trouble,” Freed pointed out softly, hand dropping to his side where he was still bearing a healing wound from that last job, well aware that if it hadn’t been for Bickslow and his magic they wouldn’t have made it out without more serious injuries. He would never have been mad about the current situation anyway, and that was doubly true considering it was partly because of him that Bickslow was having his current difficulties.  “It would be unfair for us to be irritated because you’re having issues now, so stop worrying about it, and don’t worry if it happens again.” They knew that was a risk as he couldn’t hide his eyes until Porlyusica declared him fully rested, and of course, the idiot had decided to try and chase them away straight away upon hearing that. Not that he’d stood a chance against Freed and Evergreen, who were even more stubborn than the Seith mage when it came to matters like this.

    Bickslow could feel his eyes beginning to sting, and he knew that it had nothing whatsoever to do with his magic and everything to do with the man sat beside him and Evergreen who had told them both in no uncertain terms that they needed to eat and was currently downstairs hounding Mira for food. _What did I do to deserve them?_ He knew that most people would have run a mile from this situation, hell when he was younger numerous people had left him behind because they feared what he and his magic were capable of, and yet these two were refusing to budge - not even a step. Not even now that he was a threat to them, and he couldn’t stop himself from sniffling slightly before he managed to speak again, his voice embarrassingly choked.

“Thank you.”

 


End file.
